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This Day in Baseball History
September 15th

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66 Fact(s) Found
1884 Meriden, ahead 5-3 in the top of the ninth, wins the game when Hartford forfeits for refusing to use a new ball needed to replace the one hit into a marsh behind home plate, citing the sphere did not come from a box sealed by the league secretary. The suddenly shortened Connecticut State League contest game featured the only home run hit that season at the Meriden ballpark, a round-tripper stroked by its captain, future Hall of Fame manager Connie Mack.
1890 In a Players' League contest, Buffalo Bison right-hander Bert Cunningham throws five wild pitches in the first inning against the Chicago Pirates at South Side Park. The 1996 Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame inductee's performance established the regular-season record, now shared with Cardinals pitcher Rick Ankiel, who ties the infamous feat during a 2000 playoff game against the Mets.
1902 The trio of Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance completes their first twin killing in a 6-3 win over Cincinnati at Chicago's West Side Grounds. The 1910 baseball poem by Franklin Pierce Adams, Baseball's Sad Lexicon, immortalizes the Cubs' legendary double-play combination

1904 Giants' southpaw George Wiltse runs his career record to 12-0 when he beats the Beaneaters at the Polo Grounds, 3-2. Although the 25-year-old rookie known as 'Hooks' loses three of the next four decisions to end the campaign 13-3, his dozen consecutive victories establish a starter's record at beginning a career for a starter. 
1928 The Braves play their ninth consecutive doubleheader, splitting the home twin bill with the Cubs, 5-2 and 1-6. The streak that began on September 4 sees the team drop 14 of 18 decisions, including losing eight consecutive games to the Giants.
1929 Between games of a twin bill, the Reds entertain the fans by sponsoring a base-circling contest with the winning player receiving $75 in prize money. Cincinnati outfielder Evar Swanson breaks Hans Lobart's record set earlier in the year of 13.8 seconds when he completes the 360-foot dash in 13.3 seconds, according to official AAU timers officiating the race.
1938 For the fifth time in a major league game, brothers homer in the same contest when Pirates teammates Lloyd and Paul Waner go deep off Cliff Melton in the fifth inning of the Bucs' 7-2 victory over New York at the Polo Grounds. Although Big and Little Poison have done the deed twice before, they are the first siblings to hit home runs in consecutive at-bats, a feat not duplicated again until 2013 when the BJ and Justin Upton hit consecutive round-trippers for the Braves. 
1946 In Brooklyn, a giant swarm of gnats engulfs Ebbets Field at the end of the fifth inning during the second game of a doubleheader. Due to the bothersome insects and impending darkness, the umpires call the nightcap, resulting in a 2-0 Dodger victory over the Cubs.
1950 At Ebbets Field, Cardinal starter Cloyd Boyer, sibling of Ken and Clete, hurts his arm while warming up and is replaced by Red Munger. The reliever goes the distance, beating the Dodgers, 6-2, getting credit for a complete game but not starting the contest.
1950 For the sixth time in his career, Johnny Mize hits three home runs in one game, establishing a major league record. The first baseman's offensive output, which makes him the second player to accomplish a three-homer game in both leagues along with Babe Ruth, isn't enough when the Yankees lose at Detroit at Briggs Stadium, 9-7.
1952 At Forbes Field, the Pirates become the first team to use protective headgear covering the players' temples, a precursor to the batting helmet. Branch Rickey's innovation, worn at the plate and in the field in the Bucs' twin bill split with Boston, is a plastic hat with a foam layer attached to the hatband.
1958 Snuffy Stirnweiss dies when the New Jersey commuter train he is riding plunges off the CRRNJ Newark Bay Bridge between Elizabethport and Bayonne. The 39-year-old former All-Star infielder, who played with the Yankees, Browns, and Indians, led the American League in hitting with a .309 average playing for New York in 1945.
1960 Willie Mays, who collects five hits in six at-bats, ties a major league mark by hitting three triples in the Giants' 8-6 victory over Philadelphia. The Say Hey Kid's eleventh-inning three-bagger leads to the eventual go-ahead run in the Connie Mack Stadium contest.
1963 The Mets hold the first of many Banner Days between games of a doubleheader against the Astros. The Polo Grounds event, inspired by the innovation of their fans, allows the 'New Breed' to display their creative ideas with signs, including some with a negative tone, during a parade on the field.
1964 At Wrigley Field, Larry Jackson fires a six-hitter, beating the Reds, 6-1, to become the season's first 20-game winner. The 33-year-old right-handed workhorse will finish the campaign with a 24-11 record for the eighth-place Cubs.
1968 The Cardinals clinch their twelfth National League pennant when the team beats Houston at the Astrodome, 7-4. The contest, which features Curt Flood collecting five hits, marks the final home run by Roger Maris, who will finish his 12-year major league career with 275 round-trippers.
1969 Cardinal hurler Steve Carlton fans nineteen batters, including three in the final frame, to establish a new major league mark for strikeouts for a nine-inning game. Lefty's performance is spoiled when Ron Swoboda's pair of two-run homers prove to be the difference in the Redbirds' 4-3 loss to the Mets at Busch Stadium.
1971 Astros rookie Larry Yount, making his major league debut, injures his right shoulder in the ninth inning, throwing his first warm-up pitch. The 21-year-old right-hander, Robin's older brother, will never get another chance to pitch in the bigs, with his only major league experience consisting of that one ill-fated toss to home plate.
1971 In his second major-league start, Cubs rookie Burt Hooton ties a franchise record for a nine-inning game when he strikes out 15 batters, going the distance in the team's 3-2 victory over New York at Shea Stadium. The 21-year-old right-hander matches the mark established by Dick Drott against Milwaukee in 1957.
1971 The Oakland A's win the American League West Division with their 3-2 victory over Chicago and the Royals' 6-2 loss to California. The franchise hadn't won a title since 1931, when Connie Mack managed the team in Philadelphia.
1974 On a bright, sunny day at Fenway Park, Rico Petrocelli is struck behind the left ear, below the helmet, when he loses Jim Slaton's pitch due to the blinding glare of the outfield bleachers. The beaning, which causes inner ear damage, results in the third baseman missing the rest of the season and hastens his early retirement at 33 before the start of the 1977 season.
1974 Gaylord Perry goes the distance for his 20th victory when he beats Baltimore and Ross Grimsley at Memorial Stadium, 1-0. The right-hander, who will finish the season with a 21-13 record, will be the last Indian pitcher in the twentieth century to win twenty games.
1975 Mike Vail ties the National League rookie record when the outfielder hits in his twenty-third consecutive game. The Mets' freshman streak matches the 1948 freshman performances of Richie Ashburn (Phillies) and Alvin Dark (Braves).
1977 En route to finishing with a 102-60 record and winning the American League West, the Royals set a club record of 16 straight victories, defeating the A's in ten innings in the nightcap of a doubleheader, 5-4. Kansas City also had a 10-game win streak in July. 
1977 Fearing for the safety left fielder, Andres Mora, Orioles manager Earl Weaver, trailing 4-0, pulls his team off the field when third base ump Marty Springstead declines his request to remove the tarp covering the Blue Jays' bullpen area, not accepting the skipper's claim of being a potential hazard to his player. After waiting 15 minutes in light rain for the O's to return, the umpires forfeit the Exhibition Stadium contest to the home team.
1978 In front of 47,188 fans at Dodger Stadium, Don Sutton throws a six-hitter to beat Atlanta, 5-0. With tonight's attendance, Los Angeles becomes the first major league team to draw three million fans at home.
1979 After hitting a single in the second, a double in the fourth, and a triple in the eighth, Bob Watson completes a natural cycle with a home run in the ninth inning of the Red Sox's 10-2 victory over Baltimore at Memorial Stadium. The Boston first baseman becomes the first modern major leaguer to hit for the cycle in both leagues, having accomplished the feat with the Astros in 1977.
1990 Bobby Thigpen, who played in the outfield in college, saves his 50th game of the season when the White Sox beat the Red Sox, 7-4. The Chicago closer whiffs pinch-hitter Danny Heep looking for the final out in the Comiskey Park contest. 
1990 In the first of the two times they will accomplish the feat, Billy and Cal Ripken homer in the same game. The siblings' home runs are overshadowed by Kelly Gruber's three-run round-tripper in the ninth inning, giving the Blue Jays a 4-3 walk-off victory over the Orioles at the Skydome.
1995 Ozzie Smith takes part in the 1,554th twin killing of his career to set a new big-league record for double plays. The Cardinals' shortstop's wizardry isn't enough to prevent the Redbirds' 7-6 loss to the Dodgers at Busch Stadium.
1996 In a 16-6 rout of the Tigers, the Orioles break the major league record for team home runs in a season, passing the 1961 Yankees mark of 240.
1996 Thanks to Andres Galarraga's three-run homer, the Rockies establish a big-league record for runs scored at home. Colorado, which will amass 658 tallies at Coors Field this season, scores its 626th, 627th, and 628th runs when the 'Big Cat' goes deep to surpass the 1950 Red Sox, who crossed the plate 625 times.
1996

The Rangers retire their first number in franchise history when they honor Nolan Ryan. The team's future owner, who wore uniform jersey #34, pitched two no-hitters, recorded his 5,000th strikeout, and won his 300th career game during his five years on the mound for Texas.
1996 When Brady Anderson goes deep leading off the game at Tiger Stadium, the Orioles set a record by homering in 24 straight road games. The accomplishment lasts for 22 seasons until the A's extend the mark for road dingers to 27 consecutive games.
1996 Frank Thomas slams his 215th career home run in a White Sox uniform to surpass Carlton Fisk as the all-time franchise leader. The Big Hurt's historic homer is the first of three round-trippers he hits in a 9-8 loss to the Red Sox at Boston's Fenway Park.
1997 The newly renovated Anaheim Stadium will now be known as Edison International Field. The 30-year-old Angels' ballpark will again be a baseball-only facility with the NFL Rams, who shared the facility from 1980-1994, having shifted their franchise from LA to St. Louis two years ago.
1998 In a 12-7 win over the Twins, Mariner Ken Griffey Jr. becomes the fourth-youngest (28 years and ten months) player to reach 1,000 RBIs. Junior got to the 1,000 mark younger than anyone except Mel Ott (27 years, three months), Jimmie Foxx (27 years, eight months), and Lou Gehrig (28 years, 9½ months).
1998 Ending a six-game drought without a homer, Mark McGwire, pinch-hitting in the ninth inning, hits his 63rd homer. The solo shot off Jason Christiansen in the Cardinals' 8-6 loss to the Pirates allows 'Big Mac' to regain the home-run lead over Sammy Sosa.
1998 Working the ninth for his 40th save in the Rangers' 6-5 win over the Orioles, John Wetteland joins three other pitchers in major league history to have three or more 40-save seasons. Dennis Eckersley, Jeff Reardon, and Lee Smith have accomplished the same feat.
1998 Rolando Arrojo (14-12) sets a record for wins by an expansion pitcher when the Devil Rays defeat the Angels, 8-1.
1999 The owners unanimously approved a resolution to redraft the Major League Agreement, allowing the American League and National League to merge in all aspects except on the field, where the leagues and divisions remain the same.
2000 The Giambi brothers Jeremy and Jason homer in the same game for the second time in their careers, with A's first baseman Jason setting a team record by hitting his fourth grand slam of the season when Oakland routs the Devil Rays, 17-3. The bases-loaded shot also ties a major league record for the four-run round-trippers by a team in a single season, 12.
2000 Passing Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron, Mariner Rickey Henderson scores two runs to take over second place on runs scored on the career list. With 2,175, Henderson needs to tally 71 runs to pass the all-time leader, Ty Cobb (2,245).
2000 Trevor Hoffman becomes the third player in baseball history to have four 40-save seasons when he faces four batters in the ninth inning of the Padres' 5-4 victory over the Giants at Qualcomm Stadium. The 32-year-old San Diego closer joins Dennis Eckersley and Lee Smith In accomplishing the feat.
2002 The Oakland A's capture the American League West Division flag with a 3-2 victory over the White Sox and the Royals' 6-2 loss to California. The franchise's last title occurred in 1931 when Connie Mack managed the team in Philadelphia.
2002 Curt Schilling whiffs Brewers' backstop Jorge Fabregas for his 300th victim this season and joins southpaw Randy Johnson in becoming the first pair of teammates to strike out at least 300 batters in the same season. The Diamondback right-hander has done it three times in his career, with the 'Big Unit' reaching the milestone six times, but neither hurler will accomplish the feat again.

2003 With his 2,063rd career base on balls, Barry Bonds passes Babe Ruth on the all-time walks list. The Giant left fielder now trails only Rickey Henderson, who has 2,190 free passes.
2003 Rafael Palmeiro joins Jimmie Foxx as the only player to hit 35 homers and drive in 100 runs in nine consecutive seasons. The Hall of Famer Foxx accomplished the feat while playing for the A's and Red Sox from 1932 to 1940.
2003 Thousands of Hanshin Tigers fans jump off the Ebisubashi Bridge into the Dotonbori River in celebration when their hometown heroes clinch the Central League title for the first time in 18 years. Plunging into the murky water will become a local ritual for its fans when the team wins.
2004 With the bases loaded in the fourth inning during an eventual 6-2 Expos victory at Dolphin Stadium, Mike Lowell tags Brian Schneider, leading off third base. The Expos catcher becomes the victim of the hidden ball trick, not realizing the Marlins' third baseman had not given the pitcher the ball after visiting the mound.
2006 En route to finishing the season with 101 defeats, the Devil Rays lose their ninetieth game for the ninth consecutive season when the team drops a 5-4 walk-off decision to the Blue Jays in ten innings at Rogers Centre. The 1936-45 Phillies are the only other team in big-league history to accomplish the infamous feat.
2007 Prince Fielder's NL-leading 46th home run establishes a Brewers franchise record. The Milwaukee first baseman's third-inning round-tripper off Reds' hurler Kirk Saarloos breaks the team's home-run mark set by Gorman Thomas (1979) and Richie Sexson (2001, 2003).
2007 Although the amount is nowhere near the money that the 1998's Mark McGwire's single-season home run record ball commanded, Giants slugger Barry Bonds' career No. 756 home run baseball sells for more than experts predicted. The ball thrown by Nationals pitcher Mike Bacsik on August 7, auctioned by Matt Murphy, the fan who caught the historic homer, is won by an unidentified bidder for $752,467.
2008 The day after dropping a doubleheader to the Phillies, the Brewers fire Ned Yost (457-502), ending the manager's six-year tenure, which saw Milwaukee develop from cellar dwellers into a contender in the National League Central Division. New skipper Dale Sveum, formerly the team's third-base coach, will try to stop the recent skid of 11 losses in 14 games and keep the 83-67 club in contention for the wild card.
2010 Rays skipper Joe Maddon is tossed from the game when Derek Jeter, giving an Oscar-worthy performance at home plate, is awarded first base by the umpires who rule the pitch thrown by Chad Qualls hit the New York shortstop. Video replay of the at-bat, which clearly shows the fastball hit the knob of the bat, prompts a national debate about the ethics demonstrated by the usually squeaky-clean Yankees captain, who admitted after the 4-3 loss to Tampa that he pretended to get hit by the pitch to get on base.

2010 The Cubs beat the Cardinals at Busch Stadium, 7-3, to complete their first three-game sweep in St. Louis in over twenty years. The victory marks the first time since June 12, 1988, that the visiting Chicago fans can break out the brooms in the Gateway City.
2010 At Fenway Park, Jose Bautista establishes a new Blue Jay record for home runs in a season when he hits his 48th, a two-run blast on Michael Bowden's 3-2 fastball. The 29-year-old outfielder, who has never gone deep more than 16 times in a year, breaks the mark established by George Bell in 1987.
2011 After hitting a first-inning two-run homer, singling in the second, and stroking a leadoff double in the fifth, Pablo Sandoval hit for the cycle when he drives a pitch that sails just beyond the outstretched glove of Colorado's right fielder Carlos Gonzalez for a triple. 'Panda,' a third baseman not known for speed, becomes the 25th Giant player to accomplish the feat, and the first since Fred Lewis did the deed in 2007, also at Coors Field.
2012 During the Marlins' 6-4 victory over Cincinnati in Miami, Jose Reyes is charged with baseball's unofficial 500,000th error. The All-Star shortstop earns the dubious distinction when he flubs Drew Stubbs' ground ball in the seventh inning.
2012 In a pregame ceremony at Petco Park, four U.S. Marine pilots unveiled a statue of Jerry Coleman, honoring the longtime Padres icon for his 70 years of major league service as a player, broadcaster, and distinguished Marine Corps career. Three 4-foot by 8-foot panels behind the 7-foot sculpture capture the octogenarian's roles in baseball, the military, and the broadcast booth.

Statue of Jerry Coleman at Petco Park

2014 Jacob deGrom strikes out the first eight batters he faces in the Mets' 6-5 loss in Miami, tying the modern-day major league mark to start a game. The Amazins' rookie right-hander now shares the record with Jim Deshaies, who struck out the first eight Dodgers he faced with the Astros in a 1986 contest.
2017 Major League Baseball completes its investigation into allegations made by Yankees that the Red Sox used an Apple Watch to steal signs during a three-game series in August. Commissioner Rob Manfred fines Boston an undisclosed amount for violating league regulations "by sending electronic communications from their video replay room to a trainer in the dugout."
2019 For the first time in American League history and the 12th occurrence in the majors, two teams with 100+ losses face each other when the Orioles (48-100) defeat the Tigers (44-103) at Comerica Park, 8-2. The last National League matchup of teams with triple-digit losses featured the Astros and the Cubs on the final weekend of the 2012 season.
2019 In the first inning of their game against the Orioles at Comerica Park, the Indians walked to the plate to KC and the Sunshine Band's Give It Up in honor of minor leaguer Chace Numata, who used the tune as his walk-up song with Double-A Erie. The 27-year-old switch-hitting catching prospect from Pearl City (HI), whose family donated his liver, pancreas, heart, and kidneys to people needing the organs, died on September 2 from injuries sustained from a skateboarding accident.

2020 The Phillies, reversing their unofficial policy of retiring numbers of only players enshrined in Cooperstown, honor Dick Allen, the 1964 National League Rookie of the Year, with the ultimate tribute a franchise can pay a player by placing his uniform #15 in retirement. In addition to the former first baseman's name and digits on the Citizens Bank Park's hallowed brick wall, Philadelphia, in the past, has paid tribute to Richie Ashburn (#1), Jim Bunning (#14), Mike Schmidt (#20), Steve Carlton (#32), Robin Roberts (#36), Grover Cleveland Alexander, and Chuck Klein.
2022 In a 4-1 win against the Brewers at Busch Stadium, Cardinal right-hander Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina start their 325th game as a battery, setting a major league record. The close-knit teammates surpass the regular-season mark of 324 held by Mickey Lolich and Bill Freehan, playing for the Tigers from 1963-1975.
66 Fact(s) Found